Tuesday, December 10, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. – For Saint Martin’s a 2-0 start to its 2013-14 women’s basketball conference schedule is a first since the 2004-05 season. For Alaska Anchorage, it is the third such start in the past four seasons as the Seawolves look to return to the top of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings.

The victories didn’t come easy for either team as UAA downed preseason favorite Montana State Billings and at the time No. 6-ranked Seattle Pacific, and SMU defeated Central Washington and No. 18 Northwest Nazarene. UAA ended SPU’s seven-game winning streak to begin the season and the Saints did the same to NNU.

Seattle Pacific fell three places to No. 9 in the latest Women’s Basketball Coaches Association top-25, while Northwest Nazarene also slipped three spots to No. 21.

UAA ranks near the best in the nation defensively, as the Seawolves are No. 1 in 3-point field goal defense with opponents shooting just .147 from long-range. UAA also ranks third in steals per game with 16.5, sixth in turnover margin at +9.88, No. 9 in scoring at 89.7 points per game, and No. 12 in scoring margin at +26.2.

Saint Martin’s boasts a strong defense as well, ranking No. 26 in scoring defense as the Saints allow a GNAC-low 58 points per game. Seattle Pacific ranks in the top-10 in blocks per game, checking in at No. 7 (5.5). 

Individually, UAA’s Kiki Robertson ranks third in the NCAA in steals per game with 4.5, and her 6.0 assists per game is good for 10th. Simon Fraser’s Erin Chambers is No. 12 across Division II in scoring as she averages 22.7 per game, and Montana State Billings senior Bobbi Knudsen is a perfect 32-for-32 from the foul line so far this season. 

COMING UP 

SMU heads west for a pair of games against Hawaii-Hilo this weekend, while MSU Billings, Central Washington and Seattle Pacific each host nonconference games. MSUB welcomes Carroll on Friday, while CWU challenges Evergreen State and SPU hosts an exhibition game against Warner Pacific on Saturday.

RECAP

A career weekend for Dana Goularte helped Western Oregon (3-4, 1-1 GNAC) grab its first conference win of the season, as she scored 19 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and had six blocked shots in a 71-63 win over Central Washington on Saturday. Goularte preceded her third double-double of the season with a 26-point effort in a tough 86-69 loss to Northwest Nazarene on Thursday. Goularte was awarded Red Lion Player of the Week for her outstanding performance. 

Saint Martin’s (5-3, 2-0 GNAC) junior Angela Gelhar also notched a career-high, as her 27 points helped the Saints become the first team this season to defeat NNU. Gelhar averaged 19.5 points on the weekend, while teammate Chelsea Haskey contributed 17.0 and 7.5 rebounds as the Saints were named GNAC Team of the Week. 

Alaska Anchorage (7-1, 2-0 GNAC) had no trouble downing the top-ranked team in the GNAC preseason coaches’ poll, as four different Seawolves scored in double figures in a 90-59 rout of MSU Billings. Alli Madison led another charge of four double-digit scorers against Seattle Pacific, as her 21 points propelled UAA to a 77-65 win over a top-10 team. 

Simon Fraser (6-1, 1-0 GNAC) got the best of Western Washington (3-4, 0-1 GNAC) on Saturday, overcoming a 13-point second half deficit to get a 62-58 win. Chambers was her usual outstanding self with 27 points to lead all scorers, and WWU’s Marcel Pounds contributed a career-high 16 points off the bench for the Vikings.

Twenty four points from Knudsen in a win over Alaska Fairbanks (6-4, 0-2 GNAC) helped Montana State Billings (6-3, 1-1 GNAC) recover from a tough loss against UAA. Knudsen went 11-for-11 from the foul line last weekend, and her streak of 32 straight is the seventh-longest in GNAC history. Janiel Olson also had a big game against UAF, scoring 18 points and hauling in 17 rebounds for her first double-double of 2013-14. The Nanooks faltered against MSUB, after playing Seattle Pacific tough for 40 minutes in a 71-78 loss. UAF freshman Jordan Wilson notched 25 points and nine rebounds against SPU, following with a 10-point, eight rebound effort against the Yellowjackets. 

Seattle Pacific (7-1, 1-1 GNAC) and Northwest Nazarene (7-1, 1-1 GNAC) each saw their impressive season-opening streaks of seven straight wins come to an end on Saturday. Despite four double figure scorers including a game-high 26 from Katie Benson, SPU could not overcome a strong finish by Alaska Anchorage.

The Crusaders struggled to generate offense against Saint Martin’s on Saturday, as they were held to a season-low 56 points. Megan Hingston was the lone double-digit scorer, as she paced NNU with 20 points and 10 rebounds. 

Central Washington (3-4, 0-2 GNAC) got off to a sluggish start as it averaged just 56 points in a pair of losses to SMU and WOU. Jessica VanDyke averaged 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds for an otherwise-quiet Wildcat offense in the losses.